Of all the major resorts around Tahoe, Alpine is probably the last place you'd want to come to learn to ski. A handful of short, beginner runs are found at the base of the mountain, but that's about it. To enjoy the rest of the mountain, you'll need solid intermediate skills.

For experts and intermediates alike, the best terrain is the terrain you can't see from the base. The Sherwood and Lakeview chairs on the back side of the mountain provide access to a cluster of cruisers and open bowls. An exposure that maximizes sunshine can make skiing the back side like a day at the beach, but don't expect a long-running day at the beach. The vertical rise maxes out at 1,802 feet.

Not all of the skiing from the summit is expert stuff; a confident intermediate can certainly enjoy Alpine Bowl, particularly when snow conditions are favorable. But for the most part, the high terrain of Alpine is what I would consider classic Sierra skiing—steep, narrow chutes through rocks leading to open bowls and slots through the trees. When the snow is deep—as it often is at Alpine—you'll be amazed at the crazy lines that local hotshots consider skiable from Alpine's high ridgeline. In total the resort has one high-speed detachable six-passenger chair, two high-speed express quads, three triple and five double chairs, and three surface lifts (one is for Kids’ Camp participants only).

Where: Six miles northwest of Tahoe City, California, off Highway 89; 45 miles west of Reno, Nevada; 200 miles east of San Francisco.

What's There: In addition to the usual ski-school offerings, Alpine is home to Disabled Sports

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Of all the major resorts around Tahoe, Alpine is probably the last place you'd want to come to learn to ski. A handful of short, beginner runs are found at the base of the mountain, but that's about it. To enjoy the rest of the mountain, you'll need solid intermediate skills.

For experts and intermediates alike, the best terrain is the terrain you can't see from the base. The Sherwood and Lakeview chairs on the back side of the mountain provide access to a cluster of cruisers and open bowls. An exposure that maximizes sunshine can make skiing the back side like a day at the beach, but don't expect a long-running day at the beach. The vertical rise maxes out at 1,802 feet.

Not all of the skiing from the summit is expert stuff; a confident intermediate can certainly enjoy Alpine Bowl, particularly when snow conditions are favorable. But for the most part, the high terrain of Alpine is what I would consider classic Sierra skiing—steep, narrow chutes through rocks leading to open bowls and slots through the trees. When the snow is deep—as it often is at Alpine—you'll be amazed at the crazy lines that local hotshots consider skiable from Alpine's high ridgeline. In total the resort has one high-speed detachable six-passenger chair, two high-speed express quads, three triple and five double chairs, and three surface lifts (one is for Kids’ Camp participants only).

Where: Six miles northwest of Tahoe City, California, off Highway 89; 45 miles west of Reno, Nevada; 200 miles east of San Francisco.

What's There: In addition to the usual ski-school offerings, Alpine is home to Disabled Sports USA Far West's program center. For people with mental or physical disabilities, Alpine ranks high on the list among Tahoe-area resorts.

Though the sprawl of Alpine demands extra vigilance to ensure your little ankle-biters don't literally disappear on the other side of the mountain, the resort does a good job making sure kids are well taken care of. It upped its options for tykes during the 2010-11 season, unveiling a newly expanded children's area. Improvements include the addition of a new surface lift, new snow tubing lanes, the reintroduction of Tiegel Terrain Park, and a redesigned Kids Camp center.

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